Mr. K Vinod Cartic, Consultant at Frost & Sullivan said that as the use of composite materials in automobile industry increases, diamond tipped tools will also grow faster vis-a-vis cemented carbide tools. Cement carbide tools are heavily used in the mining and power generation industry and steel and steel alloys are mostly used in fabrication of various components.

He also said that the use of intricate components in aerospace & defense industry is expected to promote use of high precision tools.

Mr. Cartic predicts that the machine tools and cutting tools market in Asia Pacific is likely to grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 9.1 per cent (2012-2017), to reach revenues worth US$6.36 billion in 2017.

"Developments in infrastructure in China and India have increased the demand for machine tools and cutting tools. China became the world's largest consumer of machine tools and cutting tools in 2002. In 2012 China also led in production. Rapid development across various industries and investments in infrastructure are the key reason for this growth," he added.

He also said that many countries depend on China's consumption to increase their export sales. He added that the growth of the Indian's economy and its related industries also create a huge potential for investments in the Asia Pacific's machine and cutting tools market.

Mr. Cartic said that in Indonesia, machine tools import in the automotive sector contributed 45 percent of the country's total imports, while the remaining came from several other sectors such as oil and gas, or transportation. He said that the majority of imported machine tools are from Japan and China.

He added that the heavy industry market account for the major share in terms of consumption of machine tools and cutting tools, estimated at 57.3 percent globally in 2012. The heavy industry primarily consists of equipment and vehicles used in mining and power generation, he said.

Mr. Cartic also said that nuclear power generates 12.3 percent of the electricity produced worldwide and this is expected to increase in the long term. South East Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam are expected to account for 29 nuclear reactors by 2025, he added.

He said that the two most commonly used tools used in the automobile industry are cemented carbide and diamond cutting tools. "Diamond tools are used in the machining of lightweight non-ferrous materials such as aluminum, copper, tin and composite materials. The growing demand for these materials in the fabrication of automobile components is likely to increase the demand for diamond tipped cutting tools," he added.

"Machine tools and cutting tools manufacturers are likely to benefit from sales boost with production of automobiles likely to increase tenfold in Indonesia, India and China in the next five years," he said.

He added that the growth of the machine tools and cutting tools market in the Oil &Gas (O&G) industry during the forecast period can be attributed to the increasing oil exploration activity in various regions across the world. Shell, Petrobras, and other major O&G companies are likely to invest in production platforms in countries such as Brazil, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Mr. Cartic noted said that the global machine tools industry is in the growth stage. The estimated revenue is over US$15 billion and the CAGR between 2014-2017 is expected to be 6.2 per cent. "It is a highly price sensitive market and the market is controlled largely by the top few market participants," he added.

He also noted that Indonesia became Taiwan's 6th biggest market for machine tools in the first 10 months of 2012. Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) statistics showed that Taiwan's exports of machine tools to the Southeast Asia surged 23.5 percent year on year in the Jan.-Oct. period of 2012, during which the island's total machine tool exports increased 9.2 percent from the same period of last year to US$3.50 billion.

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